For years, the big names in bourbon have dominated the conversation. Buffalo Trace, Heaven Hill, Maker's Mark — these are the brands that show up on best lists, line the back bars at serious whiskey spots, and fill the shelves of collectors. So when a smaller, independent distillery out of Newport, Kentucky walks away from one of the most respected competitions in the world with the title of World's Best Bourbon, people take notice.
That is exactly what happened last week at the 2026 World Whiskies Awards America, held at the historic Brown Hotel in Louisville. New Riff Distilling, an independent Kentucky operation that has been quietly building a loyal following over the past several years, took home the top prize for its Bottled-in-Bond Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey. In a room full of heavy hitters and household names, this was the bottle that impressed the judges most.
Image credit: New Riff Distilling
The World Whiskies Awards has been running since 2007, and the ceremony was hosted this year by honorary president Peggy Noe Stevens with Maggie Kimberl serving as chair of judges. Every bottle entered into the competition goes through a blind tasting panel, meaning the label on the bottle means nothing in that room. What is in the glass is the only thing that matters. Brands do pay a fee to enter, but the judging itself is done without any knowledge of what is being poured. That makes a win like New Riff's all the more meaningful.
What Is New Riff, and Why Does This Win Matter?
New Riff is not a new name to people who follow American whiskey closely, but it has never quite broken through to the level of mainstream recognition that some of its peers enjoy. The distillery sits in Newport, Kentucky, just across the Ohio River from Cincinnati, and it has built its reputation on a very specific philosophy: do things the right way, follow the rules, and let the whiskey speak for itself.
The bourbon that won the World's Best title is not some limited release or experimental expression. It is the distillery's everyday, core product. A Bottled-in-Bond whiskey, which under federal law must be aged at least four years, bottled at exactly 100 proof, and produced at a single distillery during a single distilling season. There is no wiggle room in those parameters. You either meet them or you do not.
New Riff's mash bill leans toward rye, running at 65% corn, 30% rye, and 5% malted barley. That higher rye content pushes the flavor profile in a more assertive direction — spicier, more structured, with less of the soft sweetness that comes from lower-rye recipes. The tasting notes from the competition describe butterscotch, fresh oak, vanilla, rye spice, clove, cinnamon, mint, dark berry, and white pepper. It is a whiskey that makes its presence known without being overbuilt or overdone.
And here is the part that might surprise people most: this bottle retails for around $35. That is not a typo. The World's Best Bourbon in 2026 costs less than a nice dinner out.
In a bourbon market that has spent years conditioning consumers to believe that higher price tags and fancy finishes are what separate the great from the merely good, New Riff just made a compelling argument that none of that is necessarily true. Solid production, quality grain, proper aging, and clean execution can produce something that beats everyone else in the room.
The Non-Kentucky Winner Tells a Different Story
The competition this year named two expressions as World's Best Bourbon, splitting the category between Kentucky and Non-Kentucky producers. That distinction matters because it acknowledges that great bourbon is no longer exclusively a Kentucky story, while still recognizing that the state remains the spiritual and legal heartland of the category.
The Best Non-Kentucky Bourbon went to 15 Stars and its Artisan Collection, a very different kind of product from New Riff's straightforward bonded expression. 15 Stars is what the industry calls a non-distilling producer, meaning the company does not run its own stills. Instead, it sources mature barrels from established distilleries and focuses its energy on blending and selection.
The Artisan Collection is built from a blend of 12- and 15-year-old straight bourbons, sourced from both Kentucky and Indiana, and bottled in Bardstown at 109 proof. The release is extremely limited, with just over 1,200 bottles produced. The price reflects that rarity, coming in at $168. The tasting notes read like a dessert tray: maple, caramel, orange citrus, plum, apple, tobacco, fresh oak, hay, vanilla, old leather, prune, raisin, dark chocolate, and roasted nuts.
Where New Riff wins on structural clarity and production discipline, 15 Stars wins on depth, complexity, and the kind of layered richness that comes from serious age and careful blending. Both approaches work. Both produced whiskeys good enough to beat everything else in their class. Together they say something important about where bourbon is right now — a category wide enough and deep enough to reward completely different philosophies at the very top.
The Rest of the Night in Louisville
New Riff and 15 Stars were not the only stories coming out of the Brown Hotel that evening. Buffalo Trace, which never seems to leave a major competition empty-handed, picked up a pair of wins. Elmer T. Lee took Best Kentucky Single Barrel Bourbon, and E.H. Taylor Small Batch won Best Kentucky Small Batch Bourbon, though it is worth noting that "small batch" has no legal definition in the bourbon world, making that category something of a catch-all.
Maker's Mark 46 won in the Finished Bourbon category for Kentucky expressions, while Redemption Cognac Cask Finish took the Non-Kentucky finished bourbon prize. Wyoming Whiskey's Buffalo Bill Cody bourbon won Best Non-Kentucky Small Batch Bourbon, a solid result for a state that does not often get mentioned in the same breath as Kentucky or Tennessee when the bourbon conversation heats up.
On the Tennessee side, Jack Daniel's had a strong night. The distillery's 14 Year Old Tennessee Whiskey Batch 1 won Best Tennessee Whiskey, and Master Distiller Chris Fletcher was named Master Distiller/Master Blender of the Year. Given the quality that has been coming out of Lynchburg in recent years, that last honor felt well-earned to most who follow the category.
Knob Creek Bourbon x Rye Kentucky Blended Straight Whiskey took Best American Blended Limited Release, and in one of the more age-impressive wins of the night, Sazerac Rye 18 Years Old walked away with Best American Rye Whiskey in the 13 to 20 year age range.
Heaven Hill Continues Its Remarkable Run
In the Icons of Whisky section, which recognizes excellence at the producer and industry level rather than in a specific bottle, Kentucky's Heaven Hill Distillery had another remarkable evening. The Bardstown giant was named Distiller of the Year for the third consecutive year, an achievement that speaks to the sheer scale and consistency of what that operation is doing. Heaven Hill also took home Sustainable Distillery of the Year and additional category honors, reinforcing its position as arguably the most decorated large distillery in American whiskey right now.
Chattanooga Whiskey out of Tennessee was named Craft Producer of the Year, a well-regarded recognition for a distillery that has done serious work establishing Tennessee as more than just a one-name town in American whiskey.
Angel's Envy picked up two honors — Craft Distiller or Blender of the Year for Master Blender Owen Martin, and Production Team of the Year. These wins raised some eyebrows in whiskey circles given that Angel's Envy is owned by spirits giant Bacardi and does not fit the traditional definition of a craft producer. The competition apparently judges on what is in the glass and what happens in the building, not on ownership structure, which is a reasonable position to take even if it makes the "craft" label feel a bit stretched.
What It All Means for American Whiskey
If there is a theme running through the 2026 World Whiskies Awards results, it might be this: bourbon's best is not always where you expect to find it.
New Riff winning the top Kentucky bourbon prize with a $35 everyday bottle reminds the industry that premium quality does not require a premium price tag. The Bottled-in-Bond designation, which has been around since 1897, exists precisely to guarantee a minimum standard of quality and authenticity. New Riff took that century-old framework and executed it clean enough to beat the field at a major international competition.
At the same time, 15 Stars winning the Non-Kentucky prize without owning a still is a reminder that blending — the kind of patient, careful work that has always been at the heart of great whiskey in Scotland and Ireland — deserves more respect in the American context. Buying good barrels and knowing how to put them together is a skill. The fact that it can result in a World's Best Bourbon validates something that a lot of American whiskey drinkers have been slow to accept.
Between Heaven Hill winning Distiller of the Year for the third straight time and an independent Newport distillery taking the top bourbon prize, the picture of American whiskey in 2026 is one of coexisting scales and approaches. Big operations running efficiently and sustainably. Small distilleries with clear philosophies and no shortcuts. Blending houses with good taste and access to excellent aged stock. All of them capable of producing something worth celebrating.
The World Whiskies Awards will continue through the year with more results coming from other categories and regions. But for American bourbon, the 2026 story is already written. It belongs to New Riff, to 15 Stars, and to a category that keeps finding new ways to be excellent.
